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#11
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Happy Doctor Visit Today
Hi Peter,
Good to hear that you got great results from your tests. I wonder though, at this point, do you say that you once had diabetes T2 or do you say you are diabetic but control it through dieting? In other words, can low carb reverse diabetes? |
#12
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Happy Doctor Visit Today
ronit wrote:
| Hi Peter, | | Good to hear that you got great results from your tests. | | I wonder though, at this point, do you say that you once had diabetes | T2 or do you say you are diabetic but control it through dieting? | | In other words, can low carb reverse diabetes? Good question. I'm brand new to diabetes since my diagnosis one month ago, so I don't fully understand what the implications of everything are. I've read it implied in previous posts here and in alt.support.diabetes that once you are diabetic, you have it for life. But I did ask my doctor about "Syndrome X," of which she is fully familiar and equates with T2. However, she said that my high hba1c indicates more than Syndrome X - - but that it's possible that if I can control it with diet only -- and if my fasting BG and hba1c are normal when I return for my next follow-up, I would be considered by the test results at that time to be not diabetic. To me, it's really just a matter of symantics. If it takes a lifetime low-carb way of eating to keep BG and hba1c normal, I can live with that, and it doesn't matter if it's just helping the symptoms or if I really will be considered not diabetic. The bottom line is pretty much the same. Hopefully there are people who will read this who can anmswer the question better. -- Peter website: http://users.thelink.net/marengo |
#13
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Happy Doctor Visit Today
Peter,
As I understand it, people who are not on medications like cortisone usually don't achieve diabetic-level blood sugars until they have lost a significant number of beta cells (the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin). Beta cells do not appear to regenerate, so once those beta cells are gone, your capacity for producing insulin goes way, way down. So even losing weight is not going to reverse your diabetes. But you can control diabetes through diet by reducing the need for insulin (via low carbing or the use of drugs that slow carb digestion like Precose) and by reducing insulin resistance (by exercise and/or drugs like metformin.) But as soon as you eat foods or adopt a lifesytle that increases the demand for insulin, you will outpace your remaining pancreas cells and display diabetic blood sugars again. There's an ugly death spiral hidden he high blood sugar is what kills pancreas cells, so as they start failing, the rising blood sugars that resut hasten the beta cells' demise. That means that you can't ever get sloppy without expecting your condition to worsen. But if you can maintain normal blood sugar levels via diet, it may be possible to prevent further damage. I'm heading in year 6 of controlling my diabetes via diet and, lately, some exercise. My fasting and post meal numbers are still solidly on the borderline between normal and impaired glucose tolerance and nowhere near the diagnostic standard for diabetes. Only my glucose tolerance test results would reveal that I'm fully diabetic. The big, unanswered question is can I maintain my poor old beat up pancrea cells at this level indefinitely? Since there are zero studies conducted where people maintained near-normal blood sugar levels for long periods of time there is no way to answer this question. Bernstein says "yes." I'm betting he's right! --Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes, hba1c 5.2. Cut the carbs to respond to my email address! Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes, strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Looking for help controlling your blood sugar? Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm marengo wrote in message s.com... ronit wrote: | Hi Peter, | | Good to hear that you got great results from your tests. | | I wonder though, at this point, do you say that you once had diabetes | T2 or do you say you are diabetic but control it through dieting? | | In other words, can low carb reverse diabetes? Good question. I'm brand new to diabetes since my diagnosis one month ago, so I don't fully understand what the implications of everything are. I've read it implied in previous posts here and in alt.support.diabetes that once you are diabetic, you have it for life. But I did ask my doctor about "Syndrome X," of which she is fully familiar and equates with T2. However, she said that my high hba1c indicates more than Syndrome X - - but that it's possible that if I can control it with diet only -- and if my fasting BG and hba1c are normal when I return for my next follow-up, I would be considered by the test results at that time to be not diabetic. To me, it's really just a matter of symantics. If it takes a lifetime low-carb way of eating to keep BG and hba1c normal, I can live with that, and it doesn't matter if it's just helping the symptoms or if I really will be considered not diabetic. The bottom line is pretty much the same. Hopefully there are people who will read this who can anmswer the question better. -- Peter website: http://users.thelink.net/marengo |
#14
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Happy Doctor Visit Today
Jenny wrote:
| Peter, | | As I understand it, people who are not on medications like cortisone | usually don't achieve diabetic-level blood sugars until they have lost a | significant number of beta cells (the cells in the pancreas that secrete | insulin). | http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ snip Thanks for the valuable infor Jenny, it's pretty much what I thought. The only question I still have remaining is the fact that for the past three years I have been taking two medications that I've recently learned can raise blood sugar levels: Atenolol (beta blocker) and Maxzide (potassium-sparing diuretic). I don't know if the effects on BG of either of those medications can be reversed if I stop taking them, or if they cause some type of permanent damage that I'll just have to live with. (I'm still taking the Atenolol -- which I hope to stop soon -- but am off the Maxzide now). I have a lot of research to do. -- Peter website: http://users.thelink.net/marengo |
#15
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Happy Doctor Visit Today
Jenny, there's a lot of interesting information in your post. You
might want to add this to your website. I still visit your site for these special tidbits. thanks! "Jenny" wrote in message ... Peter, As I understand it, people who are not on medications like cortisone usually don't achieve diabetic-level blood sugars until they have lost a significant number of beta cells (the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin). Beta cells do not appear to regenerate, so once those beta cells are gone, your capacity for producing insulin goes way, way down. So even losing weight is not going to reverse your diabetes. snip.....snip..........snip............. |
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